From staff reportsEast Rowan cross country runner Ross Oden won the Rowan County Pre-County Meet in 17 minutes, 25 seconds and will be a favorite today in the Rowan County Meet at Dan Nicholas Park.
Oden is the defending champion and has strong teammates, including his brother, Brad Oden, and Cole Honeycutt.
The Mustangs are the team to beat for the boys title. Coach Rick Roseman’s Mustangs nipped South Rowan last season for the championship.
Other runners to watch include South’s Michael York, the Salisbury duo of Nick Summers and Philip Tonseth and West Rowan’s Dillon Kluttz.
n In the girls meet, Salisbury is working on a streak of three straight county titles. The Hornets have been champs every year since West Rowan won in 2005.
West’s Leslie Pence won the Pre-County Meet on a muddy track and is also the defending individual champion for this event.
Salisbury will be led by the Shields sisters, Emily and Katherine. They finished second and third, respectively, in the Pre-County Meet. Jenna Bryan and Karen Presnell are among the other top runners for the Hornet girls.
Other girls to watch include Carson’s Sierra Zemanick and Jordan Murdock and South’s Emily Kinney.
The boys race is set for 4:30 p.m., with the girls race scheduled for 5:15.
n Prep golf
The Rowan County Tournament for girls will be held Thursday afternoon at Warrior.
Salisbury is the favorite to claim another team title.
Top individuals include West Rowan’s Katie Knepp, Salisbury’s Madison Kennedy, Lily Yatawara, Catherine Parks and Amber Lyerly, East’s Samantha Haviland and South’s Courtney Barbee.
n Prep volleyball
South Rowan lost to West Iredell 13-25, 25-13, 25-10, 25-23 on Tuesday.
South’s Kayla Morrow has verbally committed to Lenoir-Rhyne. A story is upcoming.
n Carson lost to NPC opponent North Iredell 23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-19 on Tuesday.
The Cougars (18-3, 7-3) beat West Davidson 25-20, 25-23, 25-18 on Monday.
n Carson’s jayvees beat West Davidson 25-9, 25-12.
Fourth-place South (5-5 NPC) plays at third-place Carson on Thursday.
n Prep football
Independence nipped Butler for first place in the latest CarolinaPreps.com media poll for all classifications.
West Rowan is ranked ninth.
CPC schools West Forsyth and R.J. Reynolds are 10th and 11th, respectively. A.L. Brown received votes, but didn’t make the top 25.
n Middle school footballWest Rowan defeated North Rowan 32-20 in seventh-grade action on Tuesday.
Marquise McCain scored three TDs for the Bulldogs on runs of 2, 8 and 57 yards and also ran for three two-point conversions.
Alexic Archie had a 4-yard scoring run. Devon Steele added a two-point conversion.
Shakir Simmons, Daekwon Smith and Kevin Gaillard recovered fumbles. Offensive standouts for West were Hunter Mesimer, Smith and Archie.
West is at Erwin next.
n Corriher-Lipe’s seventh-grade team stopped a two-point conversion run with three minutes left and beat Erwin 20-18.
Quan Rhyne had a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, A-Rod Kennerly threw a 34-yard TD pass to Kameron Sherrilll, and Devonte Steele had a 22-yard run for a touchdown for Corriher-Lipe’s scores.
Burke Fulcher ran for a two-point conversion that proved decisive.
Grex Urey had a fumble recovery and an interception for the Yellow Jackets (2-2). Rhyne also had an interception.
n Corriher-Lipe’s eighth-grade football team won 8-6 against Knox last week.
Bryson Deaton scored on a 20-yard fumble return. Matt Honeycutt fired a pass to Luis Fierro for the two-point conversion.
Austin Childers, Hunter Meeks, Dakota Smith, Jordan Boatwright also had strong games for Corriher-Lipe (1-2).
n Catawba athletics
Catawba’s women’s golf team finished eighth out of 13 teams at the Lenoir-Rhyne/Myrtle Beach Invitational, which concluded on Tuesday.
Catawba had a score of 665.
Catawba’s Kelsey Babos finished second at 150, one shot off the lead. She fired a second-round 71 for the low round of the tournament.
n Catawba’s men’s golf team finished 21st at the two-day Aflac/Cougar Invitational tournament, which concluded on Tuesday.
Catawba had a total of 605. Catawba was led by senior Jonathan Clapp. He was 25th at 144.
n North Hills
The North Hills Middle cross country boys and girls teams won a meet against Park Ridge at Dan Nicholas Park on Tuesday. Eagles took the first four places in the boy race, with Will Cody finishing first in 13:35.
North Hills runner Nathalie Whicker won the girls race in 15:09.
n The North Hills varsity volleyball team defeated Hayworth Christian on Monday.
n Tennis clinics
Catawba Junior Tennis Clinics continue until Thanksgiving on Tuesday evenings, Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons.
Call or e-mail to let coach Jeff Childress know you are coming.
Clinics cost $10 each.
Register or contact Jeff Childress at 704-637-4265 or Jchildre@catawba.edu.
n Pfeiffer athletics
Pfeiffer breezed past Barton 4-0 in Conference Carolinas men’s soccer on Tuesday.
Alex Landim, Nick Brindley, Kash Knight and Johannes Tisell scored for the Falcons (8-3, 5-1). Alex Moreno made five saves.
n Pfeiffer’s Renato Barbosa was named Conference Carolinas Player of the Week for men’s soccer.
n Pfeiffer defeated Barton 6-1 in women’s soccer on Tuesday. Ashley Hawkins led the Falcons (6-3-3, 3-1-2) with two goals.
n Local golf
The McCanless Ladies Golf Association members played their two-day championship tournament recently.
Sharon Miller won the Championship Flight. Liz Murphy was second.
Gloria Wilhelm won the First Flight, with Monica Green second. Eileen Full won the Second Flight. Robin Leslie was second.
n The 3rd annual “Saving Grace” Cystic Fibrosis Golf Tournament will be held at Corbin Hills on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1:30 p.m.
The format is Captain’s Choice. The cost is $50 per person or $200 per team.
Lunch is included in the entry fee. Individual and corporate sponsorships are welcomed.
Contact Susan Linza at 704-636-2530 for information. All proceeds go directly to the CF Foundation.
n Basketball clinic
Catawba will hold a basketball skills clinic for boys and girls in grades 2-8 on Monday (a teacher workday) from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Goodman Gymnasium.
The $40 cost includes lunch, and register by calling clinic director Rick Joines at 704-637-4226.
n Junior Bobcats
Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department is accepting registrations for the Junior Bobcats boys basketball league.
Junior Bobcats is for ages 7-15. Players can register through Oct. 16 until all spaces have been filled. Junior Bobcats focuses on fundamental skills and character-building.
Each player receives NBA material and a Bobcats jersey.
Registration fees are $35 per player for city residents and $70 per player for non-residents. Register at Hall Gym, 1400 W. Bank Street.
Practices start the week of Nov. 9 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Most games are on Saturdays. Contact Larry Jones (ljone@salisburync.gov) or Tim Pittman (tpitt@salisburync.gov) at (704) 638-5289.